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My father was in this unit in the 2nd World War. He fought in Italy; the Far East; France & Palestine.

We would love to find out more about his unit,he is now 90yrs old & things are a bit hazy for him ,we would like to know if there are any photo's of this unit & where we could get them.He once told us how, when in Palestine, he & his mate Bert Crow, decided to dry out some tea leaves & swap them with the Arabs for some dates, (thinking they were being clever!) the deal was done & they scuttled back to camp with their ill gotten gains, only to find that the so called fresh dates were rotten & riddled with ants!! They said they had learnt their lesson, but,I bet, they still tried it out again somewhere else!!

If anyone can give us info on these "likely lads'" unit we would be really gratefull,
thank-you & take care

Frank Clark was my grandmother's cousin. He was born in Swannage, Dorset in 1918, but moved to Weymouth after his father died when Frank was only 7. He joined the 5th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment on 4/5/1939 as a 'Lift Boy'. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion on the 21/3/1942 and was sent to India on 10/4/1942. Frank sadly died of his wounds at Kohima, on 27/4/1944.

Would like to hear from anyone (or families of persons) who may have served with Frank or have any photos, (groups or battalion etc) that Frank could be on.

POMM. George William Charles Clark DSM. Royal Navy MTL A449 from 9 High St, Harefield, Middx)

I'am putting together my family tree and would like to know more about my uncle George's naval history. He died in 2005 and whilst he was alive would not talk much about his time on the MTL'S based in scotland and Malta. I know he was based at HMS Hannibal & HMS Fox in Scotland and St Angelo in Malta. He was awarded the DSM and because when he received it the King was too ill to present it to him and so was presented it by some high ranking officer at the time. I would like to know what he did to be awarded the DSM and where, because family history is so conflicting and vauge. Also what was it like being on such a small craft?

Harry Clark was Captured at Garigliano and was on his way from Camp PG 54 to Stalag 344 Lamsdorf on 28 January 1944 by train. Whilst crossing the Orvieto North railway bridge at Allerona, Italy, they were subjected to an inadvertent bombing by the American 320th Bombardment Group hitting a train filled with Allied prisoners. Most of the POWs had come from Camp P.G. 54, Fara in Sabina, 35 kilometres to the north of Rome, and had been evacuated in anticipation of the Allied advance. One of the men on the train, Richard Morris recalled that the train was halted on the bridge over the river when the Allied bombs started to fall, and that the German guards fled the train, leaving the prisoners locked inside. Many escaped, Morris included, through holes in the boxcars caused by the bombing, and jumped into the river below. Historian Iris Origo wrote that 450 were killed when the cars ultimately tumbled into the river.

Sgt Clark survived the loss of Lancaster DS822 JI-T when it came down at La Celle Le Bordes France on the 8th of June 1944 whilst on a bombing raid to Massy Palaiseau. He evaded capture until the 19th of July when he was picked up in Paris and taken to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, he was later transferred to Stalag Luft 3.

Fireman John Sheldon Wesley "A" Clark . National Fire Service from 22 Hawthorn Cottages, South Hetton, County Durham)

Like most of the young men in the village, my Dad, Sheldon Clark, was a miner at South Hetton Colliery. Nevertheless, he joined the AFS and "did his bit" whilst continuing to do his duties underground; I believe he was at this time a "shot firer", which entailed driving "roadways" underground by means of drilling holes and packing them with explosives. He never told me details of any fires; South Hetton is a long way from Germany, Denmark and Norway and had only one target worth mentioning (the coal mine with its associated railway installations) and, with one exception, never attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe. There were, however, two incidents which he did mention.

The first occurred one night when the rig (which I believe was a van towing a trailer) was called out to the nearby village of Murton. There was (and still is) no direct road, so the van was driven at high speed in the blackout through the village of Easington Lane, where it turned off for Murton, which was to be reached via a notorious right-angle bend known as "Tattenham Corner". I believe the name has some significance to race goers. The night was dark, the illumination fron the van's lights was poor and the speed was excessive. Inevitably, at Tattenham Corner, the rig left the road. Fortunately, damage and injuries (apart from to their pride) were slight. What about the fire? Dad never said, but I assume it was attended to by a crew from one of the neighbouring towns.

The second incident did involve Dad personally. One night he was on his way home, whether from work or the decrepit shed where the fire rig was housed, I cannot recall. Dad was walking behind a couple of colleagues who were deep in conversation. He heard an aircraft approach and looked up to see a couple of parachutes heading his way. The two in front of him were completely oblivious; correctly surmising the 'chutes were attached to land mines rather than to Fallschirmjaeger, he jumped on the two unsuspecting lads, knocking them to the ground, and told them to keep still. The first projectile hit the railway embankment, causing some damage but the earthwork protected the three young men sheltering on the other side. The second fell further away, in some allotments behind a street of houses (Fallowfield Terrace, for those familiar with the area).

Expecting carnage amongst the chickens he knew to be kept there, Dad went to investigate the outcome. Surprisingly, however, despite the drogue effect of the parachute, the land mine had sunk deep into the boggy ground before going of, with the result that almost all of the explosive force had been directed harmlessly upwards and, like the humans involved, most of the chickens had got away with it (I'm tempted to say "by the skin of their teeth", but I'll try not to).

Keller Cloe Clark was my maternal grandfather. He did not speak of the war often and until recently, we did not know where he was held. I believe from the information I have found that he was at Stalag IIa from November 1944 until June 1945.

My father died in 1960, 3 weeks after my birth and would never talk about his wartime experiences to my mother. However, this is what I have gleaned over the years:

Towards the end of the war his Stirling was shot down over the Danish coast. There was an emergency landing and repairs were made but while they were taking off, and 50ft in the air, a bomb on the aircraft went off. A saboteur has planted it while the repairs were being done. My father was hurled through the perspex nose but landed in a mixture of sea and marsh, went through minefields, but survived. (At this time he may have been helping an injured American airforce person, perhaps of African descent. He may have killed an enemy soldier at this time, too, as my Mum said he had nightmares about this)

Through friendly contacts he made it to Copenhagen and was in sight of Sweden when he fell into the hands of the Gestapo. He received the "full treatment" and was sent to Stalag 7a at Moonsburg.

My mum would say that towards the end of the war he was part of a crew whose mission was to drop spies behind enemy lines and he talked about the Caterpillar Club.

My mother died 12 years ago and I now have children of my own and I am aware that there is so much about my father that I do not know.

Update:

The Stirling was LJ999, NF-Q they took of at 23:48 on the 4th of March 1945 from Tempsford on Operation TABLEJAM 241 and headed for Denmark. On the return journey at 150 feet, over Ringkobing Fjord an explosion sent the aircraft out of control to crash in shallow water.

The crew were:

F/O L.G.Steven

Sgt J.T.Breeze

F/O N.E.Tilly

F/S J.F.Kyle

F/S G.M.Maude RAAF

Sgt W.L.Clark

Sgt J.H.Bloomer

The crew all survived and were taken POW, 5 of then were confined in Hospital due injuries until the Liberation.

My name is Margaret Clark and I served in the Land Army between 1945 and 1948, firstly on the Home Farm in Pembrokeshire run by John Bennion and then on the Old Moor Farm near Bothal in Northumberland run by Mr J Hine.
I would very much like to hear from anyone who who also worked on these farms. I would also like to march on the Remembrance Day Parade and would be very grateful if I could get any advice as to how I would go about this.

Merl Clark had a 20-year career in the US Navy and was a WWII Veteran where he received 13 battle star citations and 5 personal citations from the Navy. Six of those twenty years were served on the USS Boise CL47. The USS Boise was part of the Pacific fleet and during his tenure with the ship, Mr. Clark participated in The Battle of Cape Esperance (sunk 4 ships), the Battle of Guadalcanel, The Lone Tokoyo Raid; and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Mr. Clark was aboard the US Boise during the Lingayen Gulf Landing (Philippines) with General McArthur aboard.

During his Navy career, Mr. Clark was the commanding officer of approximately eight different LCU, a recruiter, deep sea diver, and an instructor for boot camp. He received six letters of commendation for his service (one for citing the enemy during WWII as a gunner on the Boise and another for attaching a coaxial cable on the enemy’s submarine). He was also awarded “Outstanding Chief” of an LCU during his tenure. Overseas ports of call included: Sicily, Gibraltar, New Guinea, Portugal, Panama, most major Pacific Isles, Sidney Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, West Indies, Bombay India, Colombo Ceylon, Brunei Bay Borneo, Athens, Korea, Naples, Algiers, Plymouth and Cannes France to name a few.

He participated in two fleet campaigns and was in Torino the day that Sicily surrendered and took 700 commandos as prisoners. When he was not on an ocean campaign, he spent most of his Navy career in Navy bases located in Virginia and California.

Looking for information about F/O Peter Clark. He was a navigator with 418 Squadron, flying Mosquitos. On 18 July 1944 he and his pilot, Jim Kerr, RCAF, went missing. Clark´s body was later found washed ashore in southern Sweden and he is buried at Malmo Eastern Municipal cemetery in Sweden.
I work at the Malmo City Archives and am writing about the 10 allied airmen who are buried here. Clark is one of them and the one it is most difficult to find any information about. If you know anything at all, please contact me.
I know he was married a couple of months before he died; his wife´s maiden name was Betty Ring. She lived at 12 or 14 Princes Square, W.2. at least during 1944-1947. But then where did she go?
Thanks in advance for any help.

In my late mother's papers was a photograph of men taken at Stalag XXB main camp eastern district group. All men are in uniform. on the back of the postcard, addressed to my mother in pencil, is No 3677 Oflag 111 Germany and the name Cpl. RW Clark. Also the number 14610 and the name Clark is on the side. As my mother was brought up just outside Dundee in Angus I would imagine this chap came from there too. I would love to know more and as there are no family members left to ask I am relying on someone else solving this mystery.

My mother's name was Flora Linn and she lived at Greenford, Monikie by Dundee.

Reginald William "Nobby" Clark . British Army 57 Field Regt. The Royal Corps of Signals from Felpham, Sussex)

My Father, Reginald Clark, died last year aged 92. Both he and my mother wrote to each other continuously from when first met her at Margate when billeted in Birchington in (I think) 1941. Although I never did read the letters while they were both alive I have found pleasure in what they wrote about whilst they were apart for over 3 and a half years. Luckily I have most of them I believe, except for those which may have been lost in transit.
The tales my father told about the various activities, and I by that I only mean personal ones, are mostly comical. Of course he could never reveal where he was but I do know he was in the desert to start with, then went to Sicily the on to Italy. I wonder if there is any way I could find out about the route my father's unit took?

My father, Richard Henry Clark known as Nobby, never spoke of his time as a merchant seaman. It was my mother who told us he was shipwrecked in the first U-boat sinking after the declaration of war. He was a long time in the water and his hearing was damaged permanently but when he needed an operation he refused to have it in a Naval hospital and I don't think he received a dedicated pension.

I don't even know what his position was, deckhand, steward etc., but I do know he was the best at cleaning windows and mirrors and always brought mine up to his standards whenever he visited me after I had my own home. He lived until 1982, not in great health and not to a great age but long enough to enjoy his grandchildren.

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